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Water forecast 2 to 4 feet above normal high tide in Eastern Norton Sound
NWS Fairbanks says a warm front from a strong Bering Sea low will push water 2 to 4 feet above the normal high tide line in Eastern Norton Sound from late Thursday through Saturday morning, with beach erosion possible and gusts to 50 mph Thursday.

Yukon families get chum back, but only in the tributaries
Yukon families can take chum again, but only in the tributaries. The mainstem carries the Canadian-origin run, projected far below its border goal.

Storm-displaced western Alaska workers can still get job help
Western Alaska workers displaced by last fall's storms can still get job-search help at the state's job centers, even as one disaster aid deadline has passed.

Charter plane crash at Cape Newenham radar site kills eight
Eight people died when a charter plane crashed on approach to the Cape Newenham radar site in western Alaska. Two pilots and six passengers were aboard.

Yukon coho are running far below normal, and even a strong chum year likely won't reopen fishing
Yukon River coho are running far below normal as their peak season opens, and even a strong fall chum year likely won't reopen subsistence fishing.

Rain is coming to the Interior, and the small creeks will rise — but the big rivers are low enough to take it
Rain will raise the small creeks feeding the Koyukuk and Middle Yukon, but the big rivers are low enough to take it — a routine wet stretch, not a threat.

Saint Mary's woman, 42, dies pinned under an ATV in Pitkas Point
Tragic accident - a woman from Saint Mary's died Saturday night after being pinned under an ATV in Pitkas Point, Troopers said

Yukon fall salmon fishing closes at the peak of the season, not for a weak run but to meet Canada's share
Yukon fall salmon fishing closed at the peak of the season for Interior households — not for a weak run, but because Canada's treaty share has to pass first.

Nearly four years on, Alaska has been paid 15 percent of Merbok's $90.9 million
Nearly four years after Typhoon Merbok, only about 15% of the FEMA rebuild money has been paid out — and the deadline to finish the work is seven weeks away.

From California to Southeast Alaska, salmon fisheries are closing in lockstep this week — under the same treaty
Southeast Alaska's king troll fishery hit its treaty cap and closed the same week West Coast fisheries are closing — all tied to the same shared Chinook.

Yukon fall chum and coho fishing closes as the Canadian-bound run comes in far below treaty levels
Yukon fall chum and coho fishing closes Saturday as the Canada-bound run falls far below treaty levels, deepening food-security strain for families.

Electric bills would rise in Bethel, Yakutat and 50-plus rural communities
Electric bills would rise about 4.75% in Bethel, Yakutat and 50-plus rural communities under an AVEC proposal, on customers already paying several times urban rates.

Yukon salmon conservation rules are now locked into state regulation, not left to managers' discretion
Yukon salmon conservation is now binding state regulation — fixed thresholds that keep the river's own commercial and much subsistence fishing closed.

The Yukon River is mostly closed to salmon fishing this year
The Yukon is mostly closed to salmon fishing in 2026 — kings, chum, likely coho — with runs badly depressed and kings barred under a U.S.-Canada pact.

Alaska would give up a land claim so three Native Vietnam veterans can finally get their allotments
Alaska would give up its claim to 480 acres on the Yukon so three Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans can finally get land allotments cut off when Congress ended the program in 1971.

Yukon fall salmon subsistence fishing closes as the run falls short
Fall chum and coho subsistence fishing is closing across the upper Yukon as the run falls short, the last in a season of closures that moved steadily up the river.

An Ekwok safety officer was assaulted doing the job alone
An Ekwok village safety officer was assaulted at the clinic following up on a case — the risk of being the lone law enforcement in a remote village.

Yukon District 4 federal waters open to summer chum subsistence with selective gear only
Federal and state managers opened Yukon District 4 and Koyukuk River to summer chum subsistence harvest with selective gear only, banning gillnets to protect Chinook salmon through late July.

Alaska closes District 4 subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho starting Wednesday
Alaska closes subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho salmon in District 4 starting Wednesday because the 2026 run is projected too weak to meet Canadian treaty obligations.

Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.

ADF&G issues four commercial salmon emergency orders across Alaska Peninsula, Kuskokwim, and Kotzebue areas in three days
ADF&G issued four emergency orders in three days for salmon fisheries. • Sand Point and Port Moller openings target sockeye and mixed stocks. • Kuskokwim Bay and Kotzebue Sound orders adjust chum salmon harvest rules. • Fishermen must track shifting schedules as run conditions dictate changes.

Yukon District 3 closes to fall chum and coho subsistence Saturday as treaty goals fall short
Alaska closes fall chum and coho subsistence fishing in Yukon District 3 and Innoko River on Saturday because Canadian treaty goals will not be met.

Yukon Chinook count at Eagle stands at 1,633, a third of average; ADF&G launches telemetry study
Yukon Chinook salmon are running at one-third of normal, forcing subsistence closures, and ADF&G is tagging fish to find out why.

Weak fall run closes Yukon River chum fishing July 22
A weak fall chum run that may fall short of U.S.-Canada treaty minimums is closing Yukon River chum fishing — sport and subsistence — from July 22 through year's end.

Kuskokwim subsistence fishing reopens as salmon run strong
Subsistence fishing is back open on the lower Kuskokwim as salmon run strong — and the state is managing the mainstem again after losing a long fight over who controls the river.

Bristol Bay is hauling in millions of sockeye — and it's still a down year
Bristol Bay has already landed 26+ million sockeye — a staggering haul that's somehow still a down year, running about a quarter below its 10-year average.

A Native org is coaching Yukon harvesters on how to testify effectively
Tanana Chiefs Conference is running a July 24 workshop coaching Yukon harvesters to testify effectively on salmon policy — pressing a bycatch argument that scientists say is only part of the story.

Yukon summer chum run tops 900,000 projection, opening subsistence windows across drainage
Summer chum salmon run on the Yukon River is tracking above 900,000 fish, more than double the spring forecast, opening subsistence harvest windows across most of the drainage through late July.

Weak kings, strong chum: the Yukon's salmon rules split by the run
On the Yukon this week: kings are weak so restrictions continue, summer chum is strong so openings arrive, and fall chum has slipped enough to close the Lower Yukon early.

Three wildfires close to Native allotments near Huslia and Galena as lightning siege continues
Three lightning fires are burning near Native allotments in western Alaska, with smokejumpers responding as part of a 19-fire surge across the state.

Yukon Chinook sonar count 34% below average; fall chum added to concern list
Yukon Chinook count at 95,370 by July 6, down 34 percent from average and short of Alaska and Canadian escapement goals. • Fall chum designated a stock of management concern, forcing communities to restrict harvest on two salmon species at once. • Summer chum run tracking above 900,000 fish, offering some relief for subsistence harvesters.

Five wildfire investigations span Interior to western Alaska
Look into the fires

Heatwave-driven mortality identified as key cause of Yukon Chinook crash
A new study pins the Yukon Chinook collapse on heatwave-driven deaths of young salmon at sea, not just low recruitment or overharvest, meaning harvest closures alone won't fix the crash.

Five wildfires burning across Interior and Western Alaska as Siruk reaches 60% containment
The Siruk Fire near Allakaket reached 60% containment at 619 acres as crews push against forecast heat and critically dry conditions across five active Interior and Western Alaska fires.

Red Flag Warnings cover five western Alaska regions Tuesday as lightning threat may push to North Slope
NWS Fairbanks issued simultaneous Red Flag Warnings for five regions of western and interior Alaska on Tuesday, with Fire Weather Watches extending the threat into Wednesday and forecasters uncertain how far north thunderstorms will travel.

Yukon River gillnet closures spread as Chinook and chum run far below average
Alaska closed all Yukon River gillnet fishing after Chinook and chum runs fell far below historic averages, with Chinook passage at Pilot Station running 41 percent below the long-term average.

Yukon River District 4 opens for summer chum; Chinook closures hold
Yukon River District 4 opens summer chum harvest July 2 through late July, but all Chinook must be released alive under a rebuilding agreement that closes Chinook fisheries through 2030.

North Pacific council directs Ecosystem Committee to revise 2004 groundfish policy goals
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted unanimously Tuesday to declare its triennial groundfish policy review complete and directed the Ecosystem Committee to develop specific language changes before any formal FMP amendment begins, focusing on two goals written in 2004 that no longer reflect current council practice.

Bethel wants to charge owners who let buildings sit empty and rot
Bethel would charge owners to leave buildings empty, and help demolish burnt-out ones — waiving the cost if the owner rebuilds, or filing a lien if not.

Rough water off Alaska's Arctic and Northwest coasts, easing by Sunday
Small craft advisories are up for Alaska's Arctic and Northwest coasts through Friday — winds near 25 knots, seas to 7 feet — before things calm down by Sunday.
